My 2 year old daughter keeps waking in the middle of the night telling me her legs hurt

Jeannette - posted on 06/05/2009
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I've tried lotion for dry skin and Eczema, but she doesn't seem to be scratching at them. I've tried extra calcium to help with leg-cramps due to growth spurts. Neither seem to help. She thrashes about at night and has started yelling at her legs "Be Still!" while she cries. Any other ideas? RLS?

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Janis - posted on 06/11/2009

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My son is four and he wakes up frequently with similar complaints. We end up with the motrin --- it's hurts so much some nights he cries hard. We've done bananas too, can't seem to find a cure. I am ready to read any other suggestions : )

With my kids when they complained i would give them some milk becaseu it was growing pains and if the milk did not help then just alittle bit of tylenol which helped them relax enough so it would not hurt so bad and they could sleep. i had them to as a child and i found milk helped thoug it did take sometime for the milk to work

Hi, it sounds like what I have but never thought it would affect a young child. But it could be it. I have restless leg syndrome, that acts up when I want to go to sleep. I take a couple of non aspirin tablets before bed. But of course what is age appropriate for her. Also, I take Magnesium and Potassium. I find that if I get down on the floor before bed and do stretches. Like pulling my knees to by chest and holding for a few minutes. You would probably have to do them and ask her to follow what you do. Good luck! Hope these tips help. Linda

you know I would tell the doctor about that. A friend of mine has a three year old daughter and she used to say the same thing at night. I fogot what it was called there is a name for it, it's some kind of disease that affects there bones. Nothing major but check it out, chances are her legs really are bothering her.

Just spoke with my mother in law about this. My niece would wake with leg pains in the night for quite a while and they did some testing. She was incorrectly diagnosed with Lupus and hasn't had any problems with leg pains for a couple of years now. She just turned 8. They believe it was just growing pains. I brought this up because another mom in a parenting forum had a similar concern with her young child.

Sounds like growing pains. My cousin had them too when he was little. Make sure she's getting enough potassium. I have nights that my knees start hurting in the middle of the night myself and I usually have to take a pain reliever to help it and I have to get up and eat a banana as well and that always seems to help

Hi there. Both of my children had body aches. They are growing pains. I make sure they are kept well hydrated, have a banana or two a day (potassium). I have also massaged their legs and used heating pads to help. Good luck.

When my sister who is 23 now was about 4 she would do the same thing wake up crying and yelling that her legs hurt. we tried the lotions and rubbing her legs and feet. Then we took her to several dr. In the end we found out that she had poor arches and had to have special shoe. The dr. had prescribe where from stride rite. But that is all that I can sugest.

My son did this also when he was 2 years old and come to find out, he actually was going through a growth spurt and he could feel his legs growing. So maybe she could be experiencing this. It sounds weird but it could really just be that simple. Have you asked her GP?

i still get the crampy pains in my legs at 21! If my legs get too cold or more commonly when i have not had enough salt in my diet. everyone needs a little salt, but i'm fairly anti-salt only occasionally have it (usually at that time of month when i crave it) and apparently lack of salt can cause cramps and spasms too. maybe try once a day letting her eat something slightly saltier, or add a touch of lo-salt to her food once a day. even lo-salt i only add a tiny shake and only have one or two holes open on the shaker bit. seems to help though. my cramps are so bad that they pull my legs up under me, the cramps are in the calves and i literally cannot stop them no matter how i lie, it gets so my heels dig into my thighs, bruising them, and the muscles cannot tighten anymore, then it slackens off. i can't walk properly for days afterwards. luckily i rarely get them anymore, but when i do i scream the whole house awake! mand x

We have had the same problem with my 3 year old son. I talked to the doctor about it. He said they are indeed growing pains. I know he says he has cramps in them too. I called them charlie horses and gave him some milk to make it feel better. One night he said " my legs are thirsty" hehe. Kids...You can stretch the leg out toes pointed down and that helps a lot. Hang in there. It gets better!!

Sounds like growing pains. the stretching sounds like a plan. the calcium i don't believe relieves leg cramps, the potassium is better for that. Also keep a log on what she's doing during the day to see if she's falling or over stretching which can make muscles sore. But that's not usually a two yr old problem. I'd go to the dr. and see what they say. if you are not happy with them, again watch and write and take her to a orthopedic. sometimes you have to be the eyes of the docs because they have to do their job by listening to you. Remember be calm and direct when talking to medical people otherwise you could be ignored as an "over reactive" mom. good luck.

I have had tht similar problem with all of my children, it is growing pains. They would wake up in the middle of the night screaming their little hearts out complaining of their legs hurting. It does stop after awhile and then it starts again. GROWING PAINS... It will get better I promise.

potassium, i agree with megan. I'd check into that before jumping into rls. I had a potassium deficiency once, I was misdiagnosed as having the flu by a ridiculous ER doctor who then prescribed me narcotics to deal with the flu-apparently all you need is pain in your legs?.. lol at the emergency room, I later realized what was actually going on. I would definitely advise potassium, among talking to her doctor about it. They would be able to determine if its rls.

I have had this issue with both of my boys. My youngest who is 4 still has them off & on and of course in the middle of the night. Usually get up & massage them and give him some tylenol which helps. I have heard that pottasium is the big one that help's. In fact, my sister-in-law swears coke works great. I've never tried that because that's way too much caffiene for the middle of the night and he doesn't get pop yet. Good Luck.

Hey there! So, we've had a similar problem, but for Lilia, it's in the elbows as well. I've come to the conclusion that it's growing pains. I pump her full of potassium (bananas) and electrolites (suggested by her pediatrician) and keep her moving. Seems that she does better at night if she can keep the muscles & joints warmed up and moving during the day. I'm also working with her on stretching and teaching her how to fall and how to cushion her joints when she plays. I noticed a while ago that she takes some pretty hard hits in her legs and arms because she doesn't fall correctly. (What a strange thing to say!) Anyway, hope this helps! Megan

Quoting Jeannette:

My 2 year old daughter keeps waking in the middle of the night telling me her legs hurt

I've tried lotion for dry skin and Eczema, but she doesn't seem to be scratching at them. I've tried extra calcium to help with leg-cramps due to growth spurts. Neither seem to help. She thrashes about at night and has started yelling at her legs "Be Still!" while she cries. Any other ideas? RLS?